In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix rev_entry reference leak in mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get() When… (CVE-2026-98498)

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel's net/mlx5 component involved a reference leak in the function mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get(). Specifically, when a reverse entry was found but its counter was already being released, the function refcount_inc_not_zero() failed, and the reference taken by mlx5_tc_ct_entry_get() was not dropped before proceeding to create a new counter. This caused the reverse entry to remain alive indefinitely due to a shared counter lookup that did not actually use it. The fix ensures that the reference is dropped properly to avoid this leak.

The impact is a reference leak in kernel memory management related to the mlx5 network driver, which could lead to resource exhaustion or instability in the kernel over time. There is no indication of direct exploitation or active attacks in the wild.

A fix has been applied to the Linux kernel to address this reference leak. Users should update to the patched kernel versions when available. No additional mitigation is specified.